Sanapohja

Sanapohja, literally “word stem” in Finnish, is a linguistic term describing the base form of a word to which inflectional endings attach. In Finnish morphology, the sanapohja is the core form used in analysis to derive the various inflected variants of a word. It may align with the dictionary form (lemma) but is not necessarily identical in all theoretical treatments.

The sanapohja is related to, but not always identical with, the lemma (perusmuoto). The lemma is the form typically listed in dictionaries and used for citation, while the sanapohja refers to the stem that carries the inflectional load across forms. Some words maintain a stable sanapohja across inflections, whereas others may exhibit phonological or consonant changes that alter the stem in certain forms, with endings attaching to the resulting stem.

In practical usage, the concept is employed in linguistic description, language teaching, and computational morphology. It aids in describing word formation and in parsing tasks by identifying the base to which affixes are added. The sanapohja is especially relevant in languages with rich inflectional systems, where understanding the relationship between base form and inflected forms supports analysis, teaching, and algorithmic processing.

Notes on terminology: The exact definition of sanapohja can vary by theoretical framework. Some analysts reserve it for a narrowly defined form, while others use it more broadly as the unaffixed stem. In many contexts, it functions similarly to the general idea of a stem or root, though Finnish-specific nuances may apply.